Summery chicken and pea stew

In summer, I prefer my food light and simple. With a bounty of vegetables at the peak of their season, much of it happens to be vegetarian. If meat is involved, the same formula applies: light and simple. Clean flavours, with plenty of fresh, seasonal vegetables alongside.

Last week, I couldn’t help but buy a kilo of podded peas from the weekly market. Before moving to Turkey, I always used to walk past the little packets of green garden peas, instead opting for something slightly less humble. Recently, however, I’ve taken a liking to the sweetness they add to many dishes. As with most things food, if you don’t like something it’s most probably because you haven’t been able to figure out how to do it properly yet. This year, it seems I’ve cracked the green garden pea code. And, of course, a sprinkling of these beautiful green pearls doesn’t hurt the aesthetics of any dish, either.

The peas work really well with chicken. For this dish, I’ve added a handful of spices typical of the Middle East – cinnamon, coriander, cumin – to really bring some flavour to the chicken. The sweetness and slight crunch of the peas provide a wonderful contrast that makes the dish both lighter and more wholesome at the same time. Sounds like an oxymoron, I know, but try it and I’m sure you’ll get what I mean.

I happened to have a small amount of leftover chickpeas lying around, so I chucked those into the pot as well. You don’t have to – they neither hurt nor elevate the dish. Serve with a good portion of rice – the Turkish way of frying a little broken pasta in butter before adding the rice works particularly well here. Serves two and can easily be doubled to serve more.